As I've mentioned before...

Well, kindof.  I went off on this tangent a few months ago, talking about stones, especially their historical significance, and in that post I mentioned Beryl.

Beryl a stone that comes in three distinct colors, pink, yellow, blue and green.  Only one is precious.

Pink Beryl: in all its luster is called Morganite. Its lovely, demure and makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. No, just kidding, but for a girl who loves pink--it's a divine stone.  A lovely example is found in Maine: http://www.maine.gov/museum/exhibits/gemsminerals/window2.html

Yellow Beryl:  From the ancian name of the sun, Heliodor. The yellow tone resonates with personal power and personal intellect in a healing capacity.  Or so it is said.   Some examples: http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/mingem/gemtp/heliodor/heliodorL.htm

Blue Beryl: the talisman of travelers, especially those making an ocean voyage, Aquamarine. Since I make every bit of Aquamarine I purchase for a dear friend of mine, I have little in the way of personal pieces to show you. But, I imagine Jessica enjoys a new raw form of her birthstone every March. 

And finally the consumate beryl, colored green, and the only color of the stone considered precious, though it is the most prone to imperfection: Emerald.

Emerald

Because I have red hair, and pale complexion, emerald is often my favorite stone. I know, I know, its arrogant, self-obsorbed and silly. But such is the personality of someone who memorizes useless information at the frequency I do--like info about stones, their properties and meanings.

Each of the aforementioned stones shall of course have their own, detailed informational post for those wanting to know more.

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby.

I do not make many things in Ruby.  The reason is purely selfish and old school.

See, I was born with deep red-auburn hair, but not with a pale enough complexion to pull off wearing any red other than deep wine.  So, I generally do not make Rubies, since I can rarely wear them anyhow.

Until I found the deep wine of some Indian rubies. 

Now, those I can wear.

Now, for someone who makes fine high-end gemstone jewelry such as myself, cutting out an entire stone is simply not good for business.  No matter how much I am hurt by the cold-hard truth or my hair color and complexion.

Rubies, clear, perfect, untouched rubies are so few and far between that larger rubies are actually worth more than their diamond counterparts.  Those that are translucent rather than the naturally opaque are even far more expensive.  With rubies, the four c's are heavily in play as well.

Rubies are a heart stone.  Which is really kind of cool, because ALL natural rubies have imperfections...and honestly so do all natural hearts. The heart is a fickle organ.

Royalty have long enjoyed Rubies, as well as the 'sister stone' of Star Rubies.  Many princesses and Queens of Europe have embedded rubies within their tiera's.  Including Queen Elizabeth II, who owns the "Burmese Ruby Tiera."

The rubies I treasure most, however, are riddled with imperfections, and on some level you can still tell they were once a stone, complete with geological imperfections.

However, on a buying trip recently, I found these stunning specimens:

While the reflective photo may leave something to be diesired, there is not much so lovely as a set of rubies draped in standard yellow gold.  Ruby Earrings